Will Drinking Cranberry Juice Prevent a UTI?: Microbial Myths 5
From the commonly accepted to completely bizarre, we put microbial-related urban legends, superstitions and home remedies to the test!
Microbial Myths 5
We're back with the 5th edition of Microbial Myths, where we put microbial-related urban legends, superstitions and home remedies to the test! To date, we’ve tackled over 70 myths, from the commonly accepted to completely bizarre. Watch all the Microbial Myths and for hundreds of hours of microbiology videos.
In this 5th edition, Michael Schmidt, Ph.D., joined host Ashley Hagen, M.S., in the at 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀ Microbe 2025, to tackle nearly 20 additional microbial myths, including whether drinking cranberry juice can prevent UTIs, prolonged use of Neosporin can drive AMR, fasting can reset your immune system, pasteurization kills H5N1 and many more!
Drinking Cranberry Juice Can Prevent a UTI.
Verdict: Maybe.
It's it's all about the bladder microbiome, and it has to do with pH. Cranberry juice lowers urinary pH, which promotes the growth of Lactobacilli, and the Lactobacilli promote good vaginal health, which is powerful in combating UTIs.
A Person’s Blood Type Can Determine Their Susceptibility to Certain Infectious Diseases.
Verdict: This Is a Loaded Question
We learned from the most recent pandemic with SARS-CoV-2 that people with blood type A could be more susceptible. Additional research is needed to try to figure out why folks with blood type A are more susceptible to coronaviruses, and folks with blood type O are more refractory to succumbing to the more severe consequences of SARS-CoV-2. However, we do know that this observation has to do with how microbes interact with humans and our immune cells (among other factors). Because what do microbes do better than anything? Stick to things, and that's what's going on with the blood type; they're sticking to blood type antigens.
Apple Cider Vinegar Has Medicinal Properties
For example: losing weight, preventing type 2 diabetes, relieving heartburn, lowering cholesterol, reducing varicose veins, whitening teeth, reducing dandruff, improving acne, boosting energy, etc.
Verdict: It is Worth the Hype
The hype, we're learning from more and more studies, is worth it. Apple cider vinegar is nothing more than glorified acetic acid, and the consumption of acetic acid, as it goes through our digestive systems, is influencing our intestinal microbiomes. We know that the organisms in our gut microbiomes talk to the rest of our bodies—"it is really a quite an opera down in our digestive systems," quipped Schmidt. The apple cider vinegar serves as a substrate for many of the microbes that are talking to our endocrine systems. This is a brave, new field of microbial endocrinology that's emerging.
You Can Get Naegleria fowleri by Using a Neti Pot.
Verdict: True.
Potable water isn't sterile, and Naegleria (a pesky little amoeba that likes to eat your brains) can be found in tap water in rare cases. Consequently, if you happen to use tap water to fill your Neti pot, you are at risk. The best recommendation to eliminate this hazard is to use sterile or distilled water, which you can buy in the grocery store, to fill your Neti pot.
There's also another emerging hazard associated with potable water, and that's nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM). This microbe lives in our water supply, and poses an additional risk of disease. However, the risk of exposure remains low, as water systems in developed countries, for the most part, are safe.
Microbial Myths 5: True or False
Interested in skipping to a particular myth to hear the verdict? Here is a list of timestamps to help you navigate the video:
- St. John’s Wort can prevent insomnia.
- Hand driers spread more bacteria than paper towel dispensers in public restrooms.
- The toilet seat is the “dirtiest” thing in your house.
- Gingivitis can cause your teeth to fall out.
- Listerine can kill (or prevent) a cold sore.
- Soaking a comb or brush in rubbing alcohol and then applying to the hair will eliminate head lice.
- Colloidal silver can help treat skin infections.
- Dirty bird feeders and bird baths increase the risk/spread of avian influenza (H5N1).
- Pasteurization kills avian influenza in milk and dairy products.
- Prolonged use of Neosporin can drive AMR.
- Fermented garlic honey can treat a cold.
- Cooked turnips can cure a cold.
- Bonus Question: What is your favorite natural cold remedy?
- Fasting can reset your immune system.
- A birth parent's diet influences the taste preferences of an unborn child or their future gut health.
- You shouldn’t be around cats if you are pregnant.
- You should not eat bean sprouts when pregnant.
